Akatsuki's Kunoichi
by Plastic Roses
Summary: /ItaSakuSasu. DeiHinaNaru. HidaTenNeji. SasoInoShika/ After hearing the boys talk about them behind their backs, the kuniochi decided to leave. But is someone else behind it all? DISCONTINUED
1. Broken Hearts

While I wait for people to take my poll, I am writing a new story

**While I wait for people to take my poll, I am writing a new story! Mwehehehe... Oh, by the way, this story is: itasakusasu, deihinanaru, hidatenneji, and sasoinoshika**

**Ch 1: Sorrow and Departures**

**xXxXxXx Sakura's POV xXxXxXx**

"Naruto, I'm exhausted and sweaty. Can we stop now? It's been five hours," I said to Naruto, sweat trickling down my large forehead.

"Aw, come on, Sakura-chan! Just a little longer, please?" Naruto said with a pout on his face.

"For once, I agree with Ugly. I say we head home," Sai said, rolling his eyes.

Kakashi-sensei added, "It's unhealthy to train for too long Naruto."

"But-" Naruto started to say

I cut him off, "Besides, Naruto, I need to feed my cat. I should get going." I started walking home, when I noticed that my favorite pink bracelet, given to me by Ino, was missing. I started walking back to the training grounds to get it when I heard Sai say my name.

"Ugly sure is weak, huh?" I heard him say. I hid behind a tree and hid my chakra presence, eyes wide.

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto exclaimed. I allowed a small smile to settle on my face. "Sakura-chan isn't weak! She's not strong, but she's not weak!" The smile faded from my face.

"Ugly doesn't have any strength! What are you talking about?" Sai exclaimed.

"Even if she's not strong, she's not weak," Naruto said.

"Shouldn't you guys be going?" Kakashi-sensei spoke up.

"Sensei, what do you think? Is Sakura-chan strong, or not?" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. I waited eagerly for his answer, but he took a few minutes to think. "Sakura is weak in comparison to the rest of her team, but she is one of the leaf village's top kunoichi, although she is weak among the shinobi. Honestly, she's strong, but not very strong." I frowned, tears at the corners of my eyes. It looked like no one had any faith to me. I ran home, forgetting about the bracelet.

**xXxXxXx Hinata's POV xXxXxXx**

I sighed. We had just arrived home from a mission, and what does Kiba want to do? Train. I felt sweaty and I wanted to unpack, but Kiba insisted that we train.

"Hey Hinata! Would you mind grabbing me a water?" Kiba shouted to me as he battled Shino.

"S-sure!" Inside I cursed my self. Why couldn't I stop stuttering? I walked towards where Kurenai-sensei had placed some snacks for when we were hungry training. I pulled out a water and quietly walked back. I wanted to surprise him and Shino. I smiled as I walked along. As I neared the training grounds, I heard Kiba and Shino talking about the kunoichi.

"Ino's pretty, but she's so dumb!" Kiba exclaimed.

Shino just nodded. "Well, she's better than Hinata," he said. My mouth dropped open in shock.

"Yeah, I know! Hinata can't fight at all!" I blinked back tears. Was this really Kiba? The Kiba that always encouraged me, always supported me, and was always there for me?

"I thought that you liked her," Shino said.

"Nah, I'm just trying to get on the good side of Konoha. I do want to be ANBU after all!" He let out a barking laugh. I dropped the water and ran, ignoring my so called teammates calls. I saw a flash of pink, and one name came to my mind. _Sakura…_

**xXxXxXx Ino's POV xXxXxXx**

"Look Shika-kun! That cloud looks like a fan!" I exclaimed, pointing to said cloud. I was so happy that Shika-kun had invited me to go cloud watching with him. I smiled at him.

"That one looks like food!" a voice exclaimed on the other side of Shikamaru. I mentally scowled. Sure, Chouji was a great guy and one of my best friends, but I wish I could just sit with Shika-kun.

"Troublesome…" I thought I heard Shikamaru mutter. I smiled at him again.

"Shika-kun, do you want me to go get food?" I said.

"That would be great!" Chouji said with a huge grin on his face.

"Sure…troublesome" Shika-kun said.

"Be right back!" I ran off, happy. I quickly arrived at my house, grabbed the bento I had prepared earlier, and ran out the door. I hoped Shika-kun would like it. I let out a small giggle. I ran through the forest to the clearing, but stopped when I heard Chouji say my name.

"…really weak. Even Hinata would be better on our team!" Chouji exclaimed.

"Honestly, I just think that girls are troublesome. I wish that we were on a squad filled with just boys. Ino's so slow and not powerful at all! It's troublesome," Shikamaru replied, sighing. My eyes went wide. I loved him, and he thinks I'm troublesome?!

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"But she'll be coming soon. Talk about the weather or something," Shikamaru said. I stepped out from behind the tree I was hiding behind, and threw the bento at his head. "Ino?!" He exclaimed, looking shocked. I turned through the forest and ran. I saw a cherry blossom tree, and immediately thought of my best friend. _She'll know what to do…_

**xXxXxXx Tenten's POV xXxXxXx**

"Good job, Neji," I said. "Let's take a break." Neji-kun (I would never admit to anyone that I called him that in my head) nodded, and we sat down together, with Lee and Gai-sensei still running laps.

"I forgot my water, would you mind if I used yours?" Neji-kun suddenly said.

"S-sure!" I said. Mentally, I was beating myself up for stuttering. But still, sharing the same thing you drank out of was a huge deal. I handed my water to him. I watched him take a drink, my face turning redder by the second. "Going to the bathroom!" I exclaimed, suddenly standing up and running to the girls room. I slammed the door behind me, leaving some women to look up in surprise. I breathed slowly. When I was convinced that I looked completely normal, I walked out to the training grounds. I stopped suddenly when I heard Neji-kun say my name.

"Where is she? I want to train," Neji-kun spoke. I waited to hear if he had anything else to say about me.

"Ten-chan will be here soon! I am sure!" Lee exclaimed. I tried not to giggle.

"She's always late. What are you talking about?" Neji said. Did I just hear right? Neji-kun insulted me? I blinked a few times, trying to clear my mind.

"True that may be, we should wait patiently for our youthful teammate!" Lee said. Now Lee is insulting me too? What is going on?

"She can't even fight. She's a disgrace to our team," Neji said. The second he said that sentence, I decided I would throw him out of my heart. I glared and stopped off. I heart Gai-sensei call out my name, but I just ignored him. I ran through the streets of Konoha market, when I was hit in the eye with a cherry blossom. I gave a small smile. A message from up above, to tell me about the one person who could help me. Sakura.

**xXxXxXx Somewhere far away from Konoha xXxXxXx**

"My part of the mission was a success, un," a blond said, smirking at his teammates.

"Hn." Another one replied.

"So I take it you were successful, Itachi-kun?" a man with an orange mask said. Itachi nodded. A red-headed shinobi jumped down.

"Success. She never suspected a thing." He told his three teammates. "But Deidara, are you really so confident these girls can help us?"

"Yup, the blond one was my cousin, un!" Deidara replied with a smirk.

"Leader wants me." Itachi suddenly spoke up. He jumped out of the small hut they had been hiding in and jumped through the trees.

"We have to get ready for the next phase of the plan." The red-head said. The rest nodded. "Let's go." They jumped into the trees.

**xXxXxXx End of Chapter xXxXxXx**

**Lame ending, I know. But at least I did this story! Now go be good kids and press the little purple button at the bottom. Or if you're baka (coughhsckyonbakacough) REVIEW!**


	2. Ideas

CHA

**CHA! And welcome to the newest chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi. Don't worry, I'll still work on Reincarnation, but not until after people have taken my poll! Fierceness Go take my poll, or I'll sick H.S.C. Kyon-baka on you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Someday, though…**

**Ch 2: Plans of Departure**

**xXxXxXx Sakura's POV, Sakura's House xXxXxXx**

I ran into my room, crying. I couldn't believe that Kakashi-sensei and Naruto both thought that I wasn't strong, although I honestly couldn't care what Sai thought. I buried my head into my pillow, tears running down my face.

**'Girl, what is up with you?'** my inner asked. **'Why are you so affected? Who cares what they think! You could show them any day! **I gave a soft smile at her words, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. My eyes drifted over to my picture of team seven. There we all were. Me in the front, a smile on my face. Naruto and Sasuke on either side of me, glaring at each other, with Kakashi in the back, his hands on their heads. Sasuke…he left. _So why can't I too? _The second the thought came to me, I immediately decided to go for it. I smiled and jumped up. But before I could start packing, my mother came in.

"Sakura, Hinata is here," she said. She lowered her voice, "She looks like she's been crying."

"Can you send her to my room?" I asked. She nodded and walked out. A few seconds later, Hinata came in. Her eyes were puffy, and she had tear streaks down her face. I gasped, "Hina-chan, what happened to you?" She quietly began to relay the whole situation to me. When I heard Kiba's words I gasped, and my shock was slowly replaced with anger. Hinata was such a sweet girl; I could barely believe that Kiba had said that.

"And after I ran away, I went home to grab some stuff, because I want to sleep over, if that's okay?" Hinata said. I nodded. "But once I went home, Father noticed that I was crying, and stopped me. He said that I was weak, and that a true shinobi would never show her emotions. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran to my room, packed everything, and left. Tomorrow I'm gonna find somewhere else to stay."

"Will you come with me?" I said, staring at her.

"What?" Hinata stared at me in confusion. "Go with you where?"

"I'm leaving Konoha. I'm going to train outside the village. I just can't take it anymore." I told her my story, quietly, and without any emotion.

"I will go with you, Saku-chan," she said seriously. We looked at each other and nodded. "Should we tell anyone else?"

"I think that-" I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Sakura, Ino and Tenten are here," my mom said, poking her head in. "They look really upset, did something happen?" She looked so concerned for us, I almost thought about not going through with the plan. Key word being: 'almost.' They walked in. I gasped when I saw them.

Ino's hair was sticking out in different directions, and she had little bits of leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. Her eyes were puffy, and she had a scraped knee. Tenten was no better. One of her buns had fallen out, leaving her with one pigtail and one bun. She had tear streaks running down her face, and on her arm was a cut. "What happened to you?" I exclaimed.

Ino responded, "Both of us had our hearts broken, and we both came to you."

"Apparently we're too weak for our teammates," Tenten added.

"Oh god, you too? Tell us the stories." We went around sharing our stories. First Tenten, then Ino, after her Hinata, and finally me. I ended mine with, "And because of that, I'm leaving. I'm obviously not wanted here, so I won't stay."

"Can I come?" Ino spoke up. I looked at her, slightly surprised. I expected that from Tenten, but Ino? Ino, the pampered little girl who needed an hour just to do her make-up? But then again, she really had loved Shikamaru. Hearing that would have been a big blow. I nodded, still a little surprised.

"Me too." Well that one I expected. How many years had Tenten loved Neji? I'm pretty sure it was when they were in the academy. But it was still a little funny. I had always expected them to live happily ever after, or whatever they say. Even if everyone else's lives had crashed and burned, I always thought that one day Tenten would one day be called Tenten Hyuga. But then again, when do things ever turn out how you expect?

"So," I started to say, "Let's leave-"

"Wait. First we have to decide on a leader," Hinata said. "I say Sakura. Without her, we wouldn't be doing this."

"I agree," Tenten said. "She's the smartest out of all of us, and she has some natural leadership skills."

"Yeah, Forehead would make the best leader." I felt slightly touched that all of them wanted me as the leader. "So it's decided. Forehead is our leader."

I smiled. "Okay, here's the plan…"

**xXxXxXx End of Chapter xXxXxXx**

**So, that's it for the second chapter. I know the ending sorta sucked, but I'm not the best at endings. In the Next chap, the akatsuki show themselves. BTW, I'm looking for a beta. If your interested, PM me!**


	3. Departure

YO

**YO! And welcome. To the third chapter of Akatsuki's kunoichi! Um, so I'm still looking for a beta. PLEAZE PM me if you're interested. And don't forget to review at the end!!**

**Chapter 3: Departure**

**xXxXxXx RECAP xXxXxXx**

_I smiled. "Okay, here's the plan…"_

**xXxXxXx Sakura's POV, Sakura's house xXxXxXx**

"We leave tonight, at midnight. Bring your clothes, important items, and all that stuff. Ino, Hinata, I'm counting on you two to get the food. Tenten and I will be in charge of first aid, cooking supplies, tents, and things like that. Make sure to bring your own sleeping bag; Tenten and I won't bring extras. We'll meet at my house at eleven-thirty, and make sure we have everything. Then we'll head to the gate. The guards change at exactly midnight, so if we're late, and we miss it, we'll have to wait till tomorrow. Basically, we're not missing this." They nodded. "So let's go! It's five, try and sleep before we leave. And do not forget to pack!"

Ino and Hinata left, while Tenten stayed behind so we could divide what to carry. I grinned. This was gonna be fun…

**xXxXxXx 11:30, Sakura's House xXxXxXx**

Okay, everyone here?" I asked. Everyone nodded. "Okay, food?"

"Check"

"Clothing?"

"Check"

"WHY HAVEN'T YOU ASKED ABOUT MAKE-UP YET?!"

"Ino, you weren't supposed to bring make-up!"

"But I did! How else am I supposed to stay pretty, Forehead?"

"Try natural beauty, Ino."

"Tenten, shut up!"

"Pig, that gunk is bad for your face."

"But I need my make-up!"

I twitched. "INO-PIG, SHUT UP! Besides, we have to get moving! We need to be there in ten minutes so that we can have five minutes to wait for the guard change!"

"FINE!" Ino screamed at me. "But I'm still bringing my make-up!"

"Whatever, Pig. I honestly don't care," I responded, rolling my eyes. "But let's get moving." We ran out the door toward the gate. As we ran, I took a moment to look over everyone with a soft smile. Hinata, who usually looked so meek, had determination shining in her eyes. Ino, who normally was so excited and happy, was frowning, a huge scowl adorning her face. I turned to look at what she was scowling at. Oh, it was a stand selling pineapples. I gave a small smirk. I turned my head. Tenten was…oh no. Where was Tenten? I looked around. For some reason, she had stopped. And she was…crying?

"Tennie?" I called out. I turned around. "What's wrong, Tennie?"

"Oh, god Sakura. I'm not sure if I really want to do this." She said.

"If you don't want to come, Ten, you don't have t-" She cut me off.

"No Sakura. I said I was coming and I will." Determination shone through her eyes. I smiled.

"I'm glad." I glanced at my watch. "We have to hurry! We only have five minutes!" We took off running towards the gate. As we passed, I couldn't resist taking one last look at the bench. I was filled with memories of Sasuke, the one who inspired me to do this. After all, if he hadn't left, I wouldn't have gotten the idea in the first place. I was snapped out of my memories when I heart a voice.

"Sakura-chan, why are you and the rest of the kunoichi going on a mission so late?" a familiar blond asked. No! Naruto was the last person we needed to be here. This was not good. I took a look at the girls. Ino's face looked just about as panicked as mine was. Tenten was attempting to keep her face blank, but failing. Hinata had turned a pale white instead of her usual red. I turned around to face him.

"Uh, well…it's a special mission that we have to go on. Just us," I lied. He looked at me with a 'that-is-such-a-lie-and-if-you-expect-me-to-believe-in-that-for-one-second-you-are-so-stupid' look.

"Sakura-chan, why are you and the other leaving?" Naruto-kun said.

"Naruto. We are weak. We must become strong, and we cannot be a burden." I clearly stated.

He started to say, "But, Sakura-chan-"

"Naruto-kun," a soft voice spoke out. Everyone turned to Hinata, who had walked up to Naruto and was standing next to him. "I'm sorry. But we have to do this." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss, before knocking him out. She gently placed him on the bench. "Goodbye Naruto-kun."

"Let's go." And with that, we walked out the gate, to our new life.

**xXxXxXx Somewhere close to Konoha xXxXxXx**

"Senpai, guess what? Guess what?" the masked shinobi said to the blond one.

"What now Tobi?" the blond said with a sigh.

"I put the idea in the girl's head, but she almost broke out of it, because of the dumb Kyuubi!" Tobi exclaimed.

"TOBI-BAKA!" Deidara screamed at him. "YOU IDIOT, UN!!"

"BUT SENPAI, THEY STILL WENT THROUGH WITH IT!!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER, YOU STILL MESSED UP BIG TIME!"

"STOP SENPAI!"

"I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU ART NOW, UN!" **BOOM! BOOM!**

"SENPAI, THAT HURTS!"

"WOULD YOU TWO BOTH SHUT UP!" a redhead shouted as he entered the room.

"Sorry, Sasori-danna" Deidara.

"You better be. Get some sleep, we have to leave tomorrow." He walked out of the room. Tobi just stared at Deidara.

"What are you looking at, didn't you hear Sasori-danna, un? Go to bed."

"Okay, Senpai!"

**xXxXxXx End of Chapter xXxXxXx**

**I know, really lame ending. But I had to show that Tobi was putting the ideas in Sakura's mind somehow. And Hinata-chan finally showed Naruto how she felt! –Happiness- BTW, this takes place in shippuden. I still need a beta, too!**


	4. Encounter

HI

**HI! And welcome to the fourth chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi! I was just looking at the reviews, and only 1/8 of the people who read my story reviewed! Shame on you!**

**Chapter 5: Encounter**

**xXxXxXx Recap xXxXxXx**

"_Let's go." And with that, we walked out the gate, to our new life_.

**xXxXxXx**

"_What are you looking at, didn't you hear Sasori-danna, un? Go to bed."_

"_Okay, Senpai!"_

**xXxXxXx Sakura's POV, The Forest xXxXxXx**

"So, Forehead, where are we going?" Ino said, turning to me.

"Well, I thought that we could travel through the different countries, learn new jutsus, and perfect our old ones. In theory, we could sneak in and take the jounin exams when we feel ready. But for now, we should work on getting out of Fire Nation." I quickly said.

"Jeez Sak, were you planning the entire evening?" Ino asked, with an amused smirk on her face.

"Yeah, pretty much." I said with a grin. "But, shh! Hinata and Tenten are talking about the kiss!" We fell back to listen to her explanation.

"But Hina-chan, you knew we would be leaving," I heard Tenten say. "Why did you kiss him?"

"It was a way to say goodbye," Hinata said, "and thank you. I almost miss him. But I don't think I could stand to be on a team with Kiba anymore. And after all, where would I be without my precious friends?" She finished with a smile.

"Yeah."

**xXxXxXx The Next Morning xXxXxXx**

"Hey! Pig, wake up!" I half-shouted at Ino, while kicking her sleeping bag. "Pig, wake up!"

"Five more minutes…" she mumbled. I sighed.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID THAT LAST EIGHT TIMES, IDIOT!" I screamed into her ear.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SAKURA WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" she screamed, jumping straight up and hitting me in the arm.

"Ow! Dumb pig, you scream too loud." I scowled at her before continuing, "We're not being attacked! I'm waking you up!"

"Oh. Sorry Forehead!" She gave me a smile. I just glared.

"Get dressed and let's go!"

"Fine."

A few minutes later (never knew the pig could change that fast), we walked out of the campsite and started making our way to the border.

"What country are we going to first?" Hinata asked.

"Whichever one is next to Konoha!" I said with a grin.

"Jeez, and here I thought you actually had a plan, Forehead!" Ino exclaimed with a look of mock surprise on her face.

I responded, "Shut up, pig-"

I was suddenly cut off when three figures in black cloaks decorated with red clouds jumped down. They all wore hats, but one had a suspiciously large figure with a strangely wooden face.

"Sasori!" I screamed, pointing at him.

"That's right, little girl," he said, hate rolling off of him. "Surprised?"

"Of course! I thought that Chiyo baa-sama and I killed you!" I exclaimed.

"Little girl," he said, chuckling darkly, "you really need to make sure your enemy is dead before leaving."

"Well, this time, I'll make sure of it!" I started running towards him, my fist raised behind me.

"Looks like it's time for fun, un!" One said, while pulling off his hat.

But the next scream made everyone stop in their tracks. "DEIDARA-KUN?!" Ino screamed at the top of her lungs.

"What the-INO-CHAN?!" He screamed. They ran up to each other and hugged, much to our amazement.

"Deidara-senpai, who is she?" the final Akatsuki member asked. He pulled of his hat to reveal an orange mask.

"Guys, this is my cousin, Ino Yamanaka!" Deidara exclaimed happily, his arm around her shoulders. "We used to know each other when we were little!" I just stared in shock. Wouldn't you be surprised if you found your best friend's arms around an S-class criminal? I turned to look at Tenten. She was still holding her katana, but her eyes were wide, and she hadn't moved either. I looked at my other side, and Hinata was…bright red just from looking at Deidara!

"Um, if you don't mind, I think that we'll just be going now," I said, trying to scoot away from the three criminals.

"Sorry, princess," Sasori said. "Now that you know we're here, we can't let you leave."

Tobi started to speak, "But Sasori-senpai, what about the-" Deidara slammed his hand over Tobi's mouth before Tobi could finish his sentence.

"Ignore him, un. He doesn't know what he's saying, un!" Deidara quickly said. "But I have an idea, un. You girls are strong, yeah? A Hyuga, a Yamanaka, a weapon's specialist, and a medic, right?"

"How did you know that?" I said, instantly suspicious of the Akatsuki members.

"You always must have information on your enemies," Sasori said, still staring at me. "After my near death, we decided to gather information on you and your friends." I nodded, still slightly suspicious. "Oh come on. Wouldn't you do that too? I'm sure you have plenty of information on us." I sighed, knowing he was right.

"Why would we join you though? Why would you want us to join you? The entire reason we left Konoha was because we were weak. Do you really want a bunch of dumb kunoichi joining you?" I said.

"Tch, you're not dumb, un! We did some research on you. You are a medic, trained by Tsunade herself. The girl with the buns is the only known female weapons specialist in all of Konoha. Ino here is the only Yamanaka who was able to master the Mind Destruction jutsu at twelve. And the pretty Hyuga over there-" Hinata turned bright red at being called pretty"-is the Hyuga heiress and a Dojutsu user. That's why we want you to join."

"We need to talk about this for a second," I said. The girls and I huddled together. "So, yes or no?"

Hinata spoke up first, "I think that we should join. We could probably gain some good experience there, and even though we'll be with a bunch of S-class criminals, we would still have each other, right?"

"Aw, Hina-chan, you just want to be around that Deidara guy, huh?" Tenten said, grinning.

"I-i-it's not l-like that!" Hinata said, bright red.

"Hinata, you're stuttering! You must really like him!" I said. "But all teasing aside, Hinata does have a pretty good point. We'd gain experience and be together. Not to mention they might not let us go if we don't agree. I say we do it."

"I say YEAH!" Ino screamed. "We'd train and all that, and I could still be around my cousin!"

"Well, even if I didn't want to, I'd be overruled, wouldn't I?" Tenten said. We broke out of the huddle and walked back to the three Akatsuki.

"We agree to your offer. We'll join you." I said.

"In that case, we're off!" Deidara said.

**xXxXxXx End of Chapter xXxXxXx**

**And there you go! The next chap will be more romance, and we'll meet the rest of the Akatsuki! Don't forget to **

**R E V I E W !**


	5. Travel

**Hola, and welcome to the fifth chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi! Thanks to all my wonderful readers and especially my amazing reviewers!**

**Ch 5: Travel**

**xXxXxXx Recap xXxXxXx**

_"We agree to your offer. We'll join you." I said._

_"In that case, we're off!" Deidara said._

**xXxXxXx Sakura's POV xXxXxXx**

We started traveling through the trees, Deidara in front, Sasori in the back, and Tobi kept jumping around, talking to each of us for a few minutes at a time. Ino was at the front with her beloved cousin, Tenten in the back comparing poison tipped weapons with Sasori, and Hinata and I were side by side in the middle.

"So, Saku-chan!" Tobi spoke up. I smiled at him. He was sort of like a little kid, and I couldn't help but be nice to him. Deidara, however, was a different matter.

"Tobi, I told you to stop bugging our guests!" Deidara said, smacking Tobi.

"Senpai, that hurt!" Tobi said whining. He rubbed the back of his head like a little kid. I stifled a giggle.

"Tobi, shut up, unless you want to be art!" Deidara started to pull out some of his clay.

"Sorry Senpai!"

"Tobi, what did I just say?" I ignored them and turned to Hinata.

"Hina-chan, what do you think of the blond guy?" I said, a small smirk on my face.

"I-i d-d-don't know w-what you m-mean!" Hinata squeaked, her face turning pink.

"Aw, Hina-chan, I know you like him!" I said, my smirk widening. "He looks like Naruto."

"S-so? T-that doesn't m-mean I l-like him!" Hinata managed to say.

"Oh, Hinata. You are in denial!" I said, a huge grin over my face. She turned bright red and jumped up to Ino.

"But anyways, Saku-chan," Tobi said. "How come you left?"

"We're weak, Tobi," I said, "We need to become strong."

"Okay!" and with that, he jumped over to Hinata.

**xXxXxXx A few hours later, Akatsuki Base xXxXxXx**

"Here we are, un! Home sweet home!" Deidara announced.

"Dei-chan?" Ino spoke up. "There's nothing here."

"Pig, it's genjutsu!" I said, rolling my eyes.

"OH!" Ino gasped. "Kai!" We all followed her example and released the genjutu. "Wow! It's huge!" We all stared in amazement. I never knew that Akatsuki could build something this big. It was huge, like an old Japanese castle.

"Welcome to the Akatsuki base."

**xXxXxXx End of Chapter xXxXxXx**

**I know it's a short chap, but I wanted to post this one, and I had some writer's block. I'll try and have the next chap up tomorrow. See ya, and don't forget to review!**


	6. Return

**Aloha, and welcome to the sixth chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi! This one will be mostly about Sasuke!**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own Naruto, you are INSANE.**

**xXxXxXx Recap xXxXxXx**

"_Welcome to the Akatsuki base."_

**xXxXxXx Chapter 6: Return xXxXxXx**

**xXxXxXx Late at Night, Outside Konoha xXxXxXx**

He was finally back. He looked out at the village, so quiet in the peaceful moonlight. He allowed a small smile to work it's way onto his face. But the man's peace was quickly broken when a loud voice screeched behind him: "SUIGETSU!" The man sighed and turned around.

"Shut up, Karin. Do you really want all of Konoha to know we're here?" The man said angrily at the red head girl behind him.

"I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, but Suigetsu was being so annoying!" Karin said with a pout.

"Whatever." Sasuke said, turning back to his village. "Let's go, Karin, Suigetsu, Juugo." The four jumped toward the village gate. Sasuke only had one thought on his mind. _Sakura…_

**xXxXxXx Hokage Tower xXxXxXx**

"Lady Hokage!" Shizune yelled, running up the stairs. "Lady Hokage!" She burst through the doors of Tsunade's study. "Lady Hok-" She stopped. Tsunade was lying asleep on her desk, with two empty bottles of sake and a half empty one on her desk. Shizune sighed. "Lady Tsunade, you need to wake up!" Shizune said, shaking Tsunade's shoulder. "Tsunade, Jiraiya's stealing your sake!"

"WHAT?!" Tsunade shrieked, jumping up. "I THOUGHT THAT I TOLD THE LITTLE SNEAK- Oh, Shizune, what is it?" Shizune sweatdropped at the sudden mood change.

"Well Lady Hokage, a man and three others are down there. The man claims to be Uchiha Sasuke-" she was interrupted by some very angry stomping coming from Tsunade as she ran down the stairs.

"UCHIHA!" Tsunade screamed. She barged through the door leading to the front room of the tower. Without looking, she hit the man closest to her.

"WHAT THE-" He screamed. He was cut off by Tsunade whacking him repeatedly.

"STUPID-" –whack- "UCHIHA-" –whack- "THE NERVE!" She finished up with a final kick to the head.

"OW!" The person turned his head. But, to Tsunade's surprise, the person was not Uchiha Sasuke. He was in fact, a boy with silver-white hair and ice blue eyes. "What was that for?" He turned to another boy, with black hair. Sasuke. "I thought that you said the people here were nice!"

"I guess I was wrong," he responded, looking bored. There was her target. She walked up to him.

"I'm sorry," Tsunade said to the silver haired man. She turned to Sasuke. "What I meant to do was _this!"_ She pulled her leg up and smashed him into the ground with one chakra infused kick. He was pushed through the floor and fell through the ground about six feet.

"SASUKE-KUN!" a girl with long red hair and red eyes screeched. She jumped into the hole. "OH NO! SASUKE-KUN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

"Aw, Karin, if he was hurt before, you just made it a hundred times worse by jumping on him," the boy with white hair remarked.

"Shut up, Suigetsu," the girl said while pulling Sasuke out of the hole. Tsunade was pleased to see he was rather bloody. She would heal him, of course, but only after he suffered. "What the heck was that for?" The girl asked. She glared at Tsunade.

"He was a missing-nin," Tsunade explained with a sigh. "I had to punish him somehow."

"Did that really have to involve me getting kicked through the floor?" Sasuke asked dryly.

"Yes," Tsunade replied with a small smirk. "Yes it did. But it was only temporary punishment. It should make the council slightly less harsh on him. Besides, I'm sure he wants to meet his old comrades." Sasuke nodded. "Here is Sakura's new address. Naruto still lives in the same place." Sasuke nodded once more and took off. _I think I'll go see Sakura first…_

**xXxXxXx Sakura's House xXxXxXx**

He stood in front of her door. He was a little nervous, but that was to be expected. What do you say when the last time you saw someone you had knocked them out with only a thank you? Sasuke knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked harder. Still nothing. He opened the door a crack. "Hello?" He called out. He walked in. The apartment was quiet. "Anyone here?" He said, slightly uneasy. He walked toward the nearest door, and knocked. No response. He opened the door. It was a guest room, with bright orange walls. _She must have let Naruto pick out the décor, _he thought with a small smile. He walked towards the nearest door and opened that. An office. He stepped in and looked over at the desk. It was covered in files of Akatsuki. Sasuke looked at the closest one. _Name: Itachi Uchiha. _He glared at the file, but he left the room. There was only one door left. He knocked, and opened it. Her bedroom was empty, and the bed was neatly made. No one was there. He frowned. There was a note on the bed. _To Konoha._ He walked over and opened it.

There was one word written on it. _Goodbye. _His eyes went wide, and he dashed out of the house. _What the heck is going on?!_

**xXxXxXx Naruto's House xXxXxXx**

Sasuke banged on the door. "Wake up, dobe! Wake up!" He continued to bang on the door for a few more minutes before he gave up and banged down the door. No one was there. '_Where could he be?_' Sasuke thought as he started to race around town. He ran around the village, keeping his eyes open for a bright burst of blond hair. As he neared the path into the village, he saw the person he was looking for lying on the bench. He quickly shook the boy awake.

"Whaddya want, it's the middle of the- SASUKE-TEME?!" Naruto screamed, pointing at Sasuke as he sat up.

"Shut up, dobe. We've got a problem." Sasuke held up the note for Naruto to read.

"CRAP!" Naruto screamed. "I-KUSO! THIS IS BAD!"

"What's wrong? What happened?" Sasuke said with a look of urgency on his face.

"Dammit…it's all coming back to me." Naruto rubbed his head. "We have to talk to the Hokage, and quick! I'll explain on the way." The two boys took off into the night. Sasuke listened intently as Naruto explained what had happened last night. He smirked as Naruto's face turned bright red as he talked about the kiss scene. "…and so she knocked me out!" He finished as they arrived at Hokage tower.

"What are you doing here?" Tsunade shouted at Sasuke. "I thought I told you to go meet your friends!" She caught sight of their exhausted state. "What happened?" Sasuke quickly told the story. "WHAT?!" Tsunade screamed. "They left?! That's it. Sasuke, this is your first task as a Konoha nin. You and three others are supposed to bring back the four top Konoha kunoichi. This is an A-class mission, and failure is not accepted."

"Understood." Sasuke said. "But who are the three others?"

"Nara Shikamaru, Uzimaki Naruto, and Hyuga Neji."

"When do we depart?"

"Today at sunrise."

"Alright," Sasuke said, and he left the room. He sighed as the door closed. _Why Sakura?_

**xXxXxXx End Chapter xXxXxXx**

**Wow, this was one of my longest chapters! I am looking for a beta, so please PM me if you're interested! Don't forget to **

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	7. Meetings

**Yo there! And welcome to the seventh chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi! :) I hope you all have enjoyed the story so far! Someone requested more itasaku, so here you are! Oh, and thanks to ****Black Fire Blossom**** (anon.) for the helpful review! :) **

**Disclaimer: You're dumber than H.S.C. Kyon-baka if you think I own Naruto.**

**xXxXxXx Recap xXxXxXx**

"_Understood." Sasuke said. "But who are the three others?"_

"_Nara Shikamaru, Uzimaki Naruto, and Hyuga Neji."_

"_When do we depart?"_

"_Today at sunrise."_

"_Alright," Sasuke said, and he left the room. He sighed as the door closed. _Why, Sakura?

**xXxXxXx Chapter 7: Meetings xXxXxXx**

**xXxXxXx Normal POV, Hokage's office xXxXxXx**

Tsunade sighed as she picked out four black dots jumping through the forest. The council was not happy with her decision to send Sasuke on the mission to retrieve the girls. After all, he had been an S-class missing-nin for three, almost four, years now.

But there hadn't been very many ANBU in the village, just enough to go on patrols and watch the three other missing-nins; after all, Juugo needed extra attention. The three jounin were the most powerful of the shinobi in the village, and she knew the boys would demand to go on the mission, so sending Sasuke too would be a good idea. Plus, Sakura might be convinced to come back to the village if she saw Sasuke. Although it might just make her more convinced that leaving was the right choice…Tsunade bit her lip. _Why the hell does the brat want this job so bad? It's just a pain in the- _Tsunade's thoughts were interrupted when Shizune burst through the door.

"Tsunade-sama!" She shouted. "There's a big problem! Inuzuka Kiba was following the retrieval squad! And Juugo is attempting to kill the ANBU in charge of him!"

"Well than, send people after Kiba and knock Juugo out!"

"We can't send anyone else out, or it'll be too big of a party, and more people are likely to be killed! And everyone who is good enough to knock Juugo out is either on a mission or gone!"

"Damn!" Tsunade sighed as she sat down. "Try to at least restrain Juugo, please."

Shizune sighed. "But what about Kiba?"

"Just leave him. It's fine."

"But-"

"It's fine! We'll punish him when he gets back. And even if he was trying to leave, I'm sure he would be no match for the others."

Shizune sighed. "Understood." She walked out of the room. Tsunade sighed as soon as the door shut. _This is gonna mean a whole lot of paperwork…_

**xXxXxXx Sakura's POV, Akatsuki Base xXxXxXx**

"This place is HUGE!" Ino exclaimed, happily looking around. I silently agreed while staring at the inside of the Akatsuki's huge castle-like building. Deidara was smiling at the awe displayed on our faces. Sasori had stopped talking to Tenten and was watching Ino with amusement, and I couldn't really tell was Tobi was doing. The girls and I were busy looking around the large room.

"This room is mostly empty, because no one really uses it, yeah." Deidara said. "It's also the biggest room, un."

"Can we move in here?" Ino asked, still slightly awe-struck. Deidara laughed.

"If you don't mind everyone having to come into your room to get into the base, sure, un!" Tenten and I laughed while Ino turned red and Hinata just smiled. We walked into a new room, where two other men were sitting, one with blue skin and a huge sword wrapped in bandages, and the other man had dark eyes and long dark hair. I let out a small gasp in surprise. It was, after all, Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha. They turned to look at us. Ino's eyes were wide, and Hinata looked like she was about to faint. Tenten was…where was Tenten?

"AWESOME SWORD!" I heard Tenten scream as she stood over the S-class missing-nin. I sighed as Hinata put her hands in her head and Ino shook her head. "Where did you get it?"

"This?" he said, as he turned to face her. "This was a prize I took from one of my defeated enemies."

"AWESOME! Could I-" but Tenten didn't get the chance to finish her sentence, because at that moment, a blond man walked into the room screaming, "WHAT THE FUCK'S ALL THIS NOISE ABOUT?! COULD YOU JUST FU-" The man was abruptly cut off when Itachi slapped him upside the head.

"Please stop being so vulgar. We have guests, idiot," he said. I looked at Ino, and when I caught her eye, I could tell we were both thinking the same thing: _He's so HOT!_ But he looks so much like Sasuke-kun…

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the same blond man from before started to yell again. "Who the fuck are our guests?"

Itachi sighed. "Hidan, what did I just say?"

"You want me to shut the fuck up." the blond man said. He snorted and rolled his eyes, "It's not like I have to fucking listen to you anyways." I chuckled a little as I watched them. The blond man sort of reminded me of Sai, except instead of talking about body parts, he swore a lot. Maybe I should tell Sai there's another one of him out there before I remembered. It wouldn't matter. I was never going back to Konoha again, after all…

I guess my face must have looked sad, because Ino-chan turned to me and said softly, "What's wrong?"

"It's just that I'll never be able to return to Konoha. I think I'm going to miss Tsunade-shishou a lot. And even though they were so bad to me, I miss my team."

"I know how ya feel forehead. Even though they treated me like crap, I really miss them." Ino sighed. "It's hard, isn't it? This love business…" We sat in silence for several moments, just watching the others.

"Hey, Ino-chan! Me and the others are going to show you around, un!" Deidara said, breaking into our thoughts. Ino smiled and stood up.

"Okay!" she exclaimed. I smiled and stood up too.

"We're going in pairs, so we can get to know each other better, un! First it's me and Hinata-chan!" I giggled when I saw Hinata blush at the suffix the blond artist attached to her name. "Itachi and Sakura are another pair." 'So I'm with him, huh?' I thought as I looked at him. He was pretty hot. 'No. No falling in love with another Uchiha! Not after last time…' "Next pair is Hidan and Tenten!"

"Why the fuck am I with the little girl?" Hidan interrupted.

"What the- LITTLE GIRL?!" Tenten screamed.

"Oh no," I whispered to Hinata. "Ten's lost it."

"YES, YOU LITTLE GIRL!"

"WELL MAYBE YOU'RE JUST AN OLD FREAKAZOID!"

"WHA- YOU ARE A LITTLE ASSHOLE! JASHIN-SAMA WILL FUCKING PUSNISH YOU!"

"Who's Jashin?"

"MY FUCKING GOD! AND SAY HIS NAME WITH RESPECT, DAMN IT!"

"BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!"

We all looked surprised at the new man's outburst. "Jeez, Kakuzu. Don't get your panties in a twist," Deidara said. "But, now that we got the two of them to shut up, the final pair is Ino-chan and Sasori!"

"Um…maybe I could just go with Sakura-chan and Itachi-san?" Ino said nervously.

"What's wrong?" Deidara asked, tilting his head to the side. "Is Sasori scary or something, un?" My eyes widened as I realized why Ino wanted to come with me instead of Sasori.

A huge grin crossed my face as I said, "What's wrong Ino; I though you liked puppets?"

Her faced turned bright red as she stuttered out a, "S-shut up! That has nothing to do with this!"

As I continued to tease Ino, I saw Deidara and the rest of Akatsuki look confused as he asked Hinata what was going on. I cut in, "Back a year ago, Ino was dating-" She cut me off as she slammed her hand over my mouth.

Hinata eagerly cut in, "Ino and-" but was cut off as Ino slammed her other hand over Hinata's mouth.

"INO AND KANKURO WERE GOING OUT!" Tenten shouted. I smiled behind Ino's hand as said girl simply gaped at Tenten for a few seconds until-

"TENTEN!! YOU ARE SO DEAD!!" Ino screamed as she ran after Tenten. Tenten, Hinata, and I were all laughing as Ino chased Ten around the room. Deidara was grinning and Itachi looked amused. Kisame laughed also - "She and the face paint freak were going out?!"- and Hidan looked confused. Kakuzu had left the room, and Sasori was raising his eyebrows.

"What is this," he said, waving his hands at Ino and Tenten, "about?"

I laughed. "Back about a year ago, Ino was going out with Kankuro!" Ino's head snapped toward me. "Oh crap." Still laughing, it was my turn to be chased around the room by an angry pig with a kunai.

"And what was wrong with that?"

"It was black mail!"

"HINATA!" Ino screeched as she ran toward her. I sat down in the chair, laughing so hard my stomach hurt.

The Akatsuki turned back to me, still confused. I smiled and called out to Tenten, "Could you hold her back?" She nodded and grabbed Ino's arms. "So, about a year and a half ago, Ino was blackmailed into being Kankuro's girlfriend!"

"SAKURA!" I simply stuck my tongue out at her.

"He kissed her in front of Shikamaru once!" Tenten chimed in.

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!"

"Aw, Ino-chan, I thought you liked him!"

"HARUNO SAKURA! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

After a while of Ino chasing me around the room in circles, we sat down on the chairs, tired. "Alright, so let's go!" Deidara called out. He quickly grabbed Hinata's hand and ran out, but not before I saw the huge blush on her face. Hidan and Tenten walked out another door.

"Fine, I'll go with Sasori," Ino said, although no one except Itachi, Sasori, and me were around to listen. She leaned in closer and whispered, "Besides, you need a boyfriend, and he is one amazing piece of-"

"Ino!" I shouted as I shoved her.

"Just saying!" she said as she ran out the room, Sasori close behind her. I sighed. 'That girl will never change,' I thought.

"Let's go," Itachi said as he began to walk out of the room. I nodded, although he wouldn't see, and I followed him out of the room.

**xXxXxXx End Chapter xXxXxXx**

**So that's the end of the chapter. Sorry this took so long. I've been busy; I'm a baton twirler, and Regionals are coming up. About the story...Looking back on it, it wasn't that fully of Itasaku…. Ah well, there were hints of it, and the next chapter will have more romance…for ALL the girls. Thanks for reading and don't forget to R E V I E W.**


	8. Getting to Know Them, Pt 1

Konnichiwa minna-san, and welcome to the eighth chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi

**Konnichiwa minna-san, and welcome to the eighth chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi! …I had 123 hits on that last chapter, and only two reviews?! Ugh. Since 25 people have this on their alert list, I'm not going to update until I get at least ten reviews!! Thanks to ****PiecesHateScorpios**** and ****blossomheartxoxo ****for the reviews! You guys rock!**

**Edit: I'm-Akemi-chan has updated, and so I shall post! D**

**Disclaimer: As I have said the previous seven times, I do not own Naruto, got it?**

**xXxXx Recap xXxXx**

"_Let's go," Itachi said as he began to walk out of the room. I nodded, although he wouldn't see, and I followed him out of the room_

**Ch 8: Getting to Know Them**

**xXxXx Somwhere in Akatsuki Base, Normal POV xXxXx**

"And here's the fucking kitchen," said Hidan, gesturing to the door on the pair's left.

"Jeez, I thought I told you to stop swearing!" Tenten smacked his arm.

"What if I don't fucking want to?"

"God! You suck!"

"DON'T FUCKING TAKE THE NAME OF FUCKING JASHIN-SAMA IN VAIN!"

"YOU JUST SHUT UP, BASTARD!"

"YOU FUCKING SHUT UP, BITCH!"

Suddenly Tenten grinned. "I wanna make a bet with you."

Hidan rolled his eyes. "What the fuck is it?"

She glared slightly at the curse, but ignored it. "If I can get you to compliment me, you owe me fifty dollars, kay?"

Hidan rolled his eyes but shook her outstretched hand. "Whatever, little girl."

She froze. "What did you just call me?"

"I FUCKING CALLED YOU A FUCKING LITTLE GIRL! DEAL!"

"OH YEAH? AT LEAST I DON'T USE SOME WEIRD SCYTHE!"

"AT LEAST I DON'T USE A BUNCH OF FREAKY WEAPONS!"

"AT LEAST I DON'T WORSHIP SOME WEIRD GOD!"

"AT LEAST I'M NOT A NON-BELIEVER!"

"AT LEAST YOUR HAIR ISN'T BAD!"

"AT LEAST YOUR HAIR IS BETTER THAN MINE!" Hidan's eyes widened as he realized what the girl had just tricked him into saying. "I mean…**my** hair is better than yours!"

"Too late! Now you owe me money!" she said as she stuck her tongue out at him. He glared at her and started to unsheathe his scythe. "Eek!" she ran ahead of him.

"Stupid girl…" he whispered to himself as he tried to get rid of the blush on his face.

**xXxXx With Deidara and Hinata xXxXx**

Hinata could not stop blushing. After all, Deidara had her hand-_her hand-_entwined with his. At the moment, she didn't really care that her shirt had a stain on it from Tenten's (horrible) cooking this morning, or that his hands had mouths on them. He was holding HER HAND!

"And finally! This is your room!" He opened a door to their left. She smiled as she walked into it. It was empty, except for the light blue bed in the corner and the white dresser on the wall under the window. The walls were white and the floor a pale blue. Deidara sheepishly rubbed his head with his free hand. "Sorry we didn't furnish it more, yeah…"

"It's alright," Hinata spoke. She smiled shyly. "I like the c-colors."

"Then I guess it's good, yeah?" He grinned at her. She smiled, her face turning red.

"Y-yeah!" As she looked around the room, she noticed something. There was an strange vent above her door. She walked back out into the hall, noticing a 'pipe' that connected from the vent in her room to above the door in Deidara's room, which was across from hers. "Um, Deidara-san…?" She spoke quietly.

"Yeah?" He said, glancing at her.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why is there a pipe of some sort leading from my room to yours?"

"Oh." He blinked twice and then answered, "It's nothing, un."

Normally Hinata would have accepted his explanation without question if she and Tenten had not just finished the course on body language right before leaving. As it was, she had noticed that Deidara's shoulders had tensed slightly when she asked her question. She frowned. "Deidara-kun, what is it really?"

He sighed and dropped his hands. "Don't get mad, k, un?"

"I won't," she spoke softly.

He sighed again. "Its…its…okay, itsbasicallyawayforustospyonyoufour."

Hinata blinked twice. "It's a what?"

Deidara sighed again. "Y'know that you girls aren't new members of the orginazation yet, yeah?" Hinata nodded. "Well, we gotta make sure you girls aren't here to spy on us, un. So we have to spy on you, un. All the other girl's room connect to one of our rooms." His eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. "You can't tell anyone; it was supposed to be a secret, yeah."

She nodded. "Don't worry, Deidara-kun, I won't tell anyone."

He visibly relaxed. "Good. If Leader knew that I told you that, he'd have my head, un. Literally." He grabbed her hand again. "Now c'mon, let's continue the tour, k, un?"

**xXxXx End of Chapter xXxXx**

**Finally, this chapter is done! Sorry about the long wait. And I know the part with Tenten and Hidan sucked. Sorry bout that. I couldn't think of anything better. But, anyways, the other half of this section will come soon! Ciao!**

**P.S.**

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	9. Getting to Know Them, Pt 2

**Yo yo yo! And welcome to the ninth chapter of Akatsuki's Kunoichi! (Er, that was horribly cheesy, wasn't it?) This is basically a continuation of the last chapter! The reason I split it was: A) I had to update, and B) I had to think about the SasoIno part of this chapter. Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy! By the way, I totally love all my reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I totally own Naruto. Just like Kiyon-chan owns L and Light and cDogg-chan owns Aang. (Sarcasm, people.)**

**xXxXx Recap xXxXx**

_Deidara visibly relaxed. "Good. If Leader knew that I told you that, he'd have my head, un. Literally." He grabbed her hand again. "Now c'mon, let's continue the tour, k, un?"_

**Ch 9: Getting to Know Them, Part 2**

**xXxXx With Sasori and Ino xXxXx**

"Before we begin the tour, I must drop something off in my room. Excuse me," Sasori spoke. He started to want into his room before stopping in front of the door. "You may come in, if you want."

Ino gulped nervously before walking in. Her eyes widened. The place was full of puppets. She found it strangely interesting. Ino walked over to one of them and bent down to examine it. Her hand reached out and touched it lightly-

"EYA!" She screamed as she was roughly pulled backwards by a pair of hands. As she fell flat on her back, she could see several kunai whiz past, right towards the area where she had just been standing.

"Ow…." She spoke. The ground she had landed on, while covered in some fabric, was obviously made of wood.

Suddenly, the 'ground' spoke. "Could you please move?" Sasori spoke, slightly annoyed. She hadn't recognized him at first because of that strange other puppet he wore over himself. Damn he was hot!

Suddenly, Ino remebered her position. She squeaked. "Sorry!" she exclaimed as she quickly jumped off him, her face quickly turning red. He seemed unconcerned as he stood up and brushed off his cloak. She turned away quickly and started to examine the puppets again.

"So you're interested in puppets?" Sasori's voice spoke from behind her. Ino spun around to see that he was standing right behind her.

"Er, it was sorta something I picked up from Kankuro and never really dropped…." Ino trailed off, feeling akward. He looked at her, and Ino couldn't shake the feeling she said something wrong. She spoke again, "I mean, I like them and all, but they're not like an obsession or anything." She could see him still staring at her. "I mean they're really cool and all and and-"

"Ino," he spoke.

"Er, yeah?"

"Shut up." He turned and exited the room then, after all, he wouldn't want her seeing the small smile on his face.

**xXxXx With Itachi and Sakura xXxXx**

"And here is your room." Itachi opened the door. It was fairly plain, with red sheets on the bed and light red walls. The carpet was black, and the rest of the room was decorated with various shades of red.

"Thanks for the tour, Itachi," Sakura spoke politely. Over the tour, she had gotten the impression that he was polite but distant, and a part of her couldn't help but want to break down the walls he had built around his heart.

"Hn." Any feelings she had had towards the Uchiha prodigy immediately vanished. There was no word she hated more than that cursed syllable.

"Don't say that stupid word."

Itachi raised any eyebrow. "Is there any particular reason you hate it so much?"

She swallowed and looked away. "Not…really…." She quickly walked into her room and dropped her things. "It doesn't matter, really!" she spoke cheerfully.

Itachi frowned slightly. "…."

She plopped onto the bed and pulled open her bag. On top of her clothes lay a package carefully wrapped in bubble wrap. Itachi wondered vaguely what could be so important that she would need to wrap it so carefully. An important scroll, perhaps?

It was nothing like that. Itachi watched as Sakura pulled out a wooden picture frame, framing the picture of the famous Team 7. She put it gently on the nightstand next to her bed, at an angle so she would be able to see it when she woke up.

Itachi watched as she traced a finger over the figures, a hard to read expression on her face. Part of him knew that he should tell Leader about this, in case of a possible betrayal, but part of him was just content to watch her for now.

"Itachi, are you just going to stand there?" Itachi blinked; he had forgotten what he was doing. Sakura smiled at him. "You can come and sit down."

Almost akwardly, Itachi walked over and sat down at the edge of her bed, watching her adjust the picture.

He stared at the young, foolish girl in the picture, and compared her to the strong, capable kunoichi in front of him. It was almost unbelievable that they were the same person. He spoke, "You've changed."

She seemed startled for a second, before laughing a little. "Yeah," she looked at herself in the pictures. "I guess I have."

Reaching forward and grabbing the picture, Sakura spoke again, "I remember how stupid I was back then." She traced her finger over the picture. "I used to be so obsessed with Sasuke, even though it always felt like he didn't even know that I existed." Her smile slowly grew more and more sad. "I was a fool…."

Itachi, not quite believing what he was doing, shook his head. "He was the fool."

"What…?" Sakura whispered as Itachi shifted closer to her.

Itachi reached out and touched some of her hair; his face blank, but his eyes were almost...caring. "Sasuke was the fool," he repeated.

"What do you mean?"

"He never noticed what was right in front of him."

Sakura's eyes widened as she leaned in-

BANG! "Itachi, who's cooking din…ner…." Deidara trailed off as he watched Sakura jump from her spot on the bed next to Itachi to halfway across the room, on top of the dresser. "Uh…. Actually, I'll be in the kitchen, kaythanksbye!" He flew out of the room.

Itachi sighed and stood up. He glanced at Sakura, who was still crouched on top of the dresser. "I'm afraid I must go cook. I will see you at dinner." With those simple statements, Itachi left the room.

Sakura awkwardly rolled off the dresser, landed with a small 'Oomph!' on the floor, and stood up, all the while reflecting on what had just happened with Itachi. She couldn't believe it. It all seemed so unreal. Had she and Itachi, Uchiha Itachi, S-Rank Missing-Nin, really almost kissed? Yes. Did she want to kiss him? That was the question. She felt her face go bright read at the thought of it. She wondered if Hinata had felt like this, around Naruto.

Naruto. Her team, and...Sakura glanced at the picture next to her bed. Sasuke. Sakura remebered that night, the moon, the cold bench, the sight of his back to her, and most of all, the whispered 'Thank you.' She frowned before standing up. Any romantic feelings would be ignored for now.

They were here to become strong.

**xXxXx Chapter End xXxXx**

**Yeah. I know this took forever, but lotsa projects and homework. Not to mention lots of 'all grade couseling sessions' to understand 'why we seem to dislike school so much.' WE DON'T 'SEEM TO DISLIKE IT,' YOU IDIOT OF A GUIDANCE COUNSELER, WE HATE IT!**

**Thanks to all of my reviewers! And in case you missed it last time:**

**IMPORTANT! I will not update until I have ten reviews. Seeing as this story had over twenty watchers, I think this is fair.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Unraveling Thread

**Yo, yo, YOOOOOOOO! HEY MAN! -shot- Welcome to the tenth chapter of AK~! Sorry for no updates~ I forgot about this for a while, and then school RUDELY decided to come and SMASH ITSELF IN MY FACE.**

**So, enjoy~!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I owe the characters in said series. (Sadly. I mean, how cool would it be to have an Itachi~?)**

**xXxXx Unraveling Thread xXxXx**

That night passed without incident. Dinner that night was cooked by Deidara (forced into doing so by Itachi), and thus was extremely burnt. Even so, the salad he had made was not completely awful, and the Akatsuki members and the girls ate in relative peace. Despite this, there was a noticeable tension in the air around Itachi and Sakura, and it was not unnoticed by the other kunoichi that Hinata and Deidara sat next to each other, holding hands, throughout the meal.

After the meal, Sakura quickly returned to her room to sleep. She started to get ready for bed. She quickly pulled off her traveling boots, and then her bracelet-

Wait. Sakura blinked, staring at the item. Her bracelet? It was pink, and woven, and was obviously very old and loved. Everything she saw was telling her that it was the same one given to her by Ino when they were young, but that was impossible. She had dropped it at the training grounds, back when she was still in Konoha. It was the whole reason she had overheard her teammates talking about her.

Sakura frowned, but gently put the bracelet on her bedside table in front of her beloved picture. She dressed in her pajamas, and then climbed into bed.

The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was the bracelet, and the last thought she had that night was, '_Something isn't right….'_

**xXxXx The Next Morning xXxXx**

When she woke up, Sakura was once again reminded of the thoughts she had last night. But now, they seemed silly. She had probably just gone back to pick it up that afternoon, and it had slipped her mind. Yes, that had to be it. There was nothing odd going on here.

Sakura quickly pulled on her clothes before walking out to the kitchen to grab breakfast. In the hall, Sakura noticedit was just approaching sunrise, which meant she was up surprisingly early, for her. In Konoha, she had always slept late. She guessed it had something to do with still being wary of the environment. After all, the Akatsuki were a group of highly-dangerous S-class criminals.

To her surprise, once Sakura reached the kitchen, the only other member there was Itachi, who appeared to be drinking a cup of tea. '_Of course it had to be Itachi,' _she groaned mentally. "Morning," she greeted.

To her surprise, Itachi responded with a kind, "Good morning." She blinked, and flushed. Sakura quickly turned to look for coffee. It was a bad habit she had picked up from both Shizune and Tsunade; after working late in the hospital or on paperwork, the kunoichi would often need a large, dark pot of the stuff.

She couldn't find any.

Of course.

"Is this what you are looking for?" a voice from behind her said. A pair of arms reached around her to open up a cabinet Sakura hadn't noticed. Inside was the coffee pot and a convenient bag of coffee, but Sakura barely noticed. '_Ohmygod,'_ the part of her that was still a hormonal fifteen-year old girl shrieked inside Sakura's head. Sakura could feel herself going red.

Thankfully (or not-so-thankfully, depending on what part of Sakura you asked), Itachi moved away, allowing her to pull out the two items she needed. She quickly prepared herself a mug, and, to rid the atmosphere of awkwardness, Sakura asked, "So why do you keep the coffee hidden away in a cabinet?"

Itachi paused a moment before replying, "As you have no doubt noticed, Tobi is already very, shall we say, _energetic _on his own. Once, he managed to drink two mugs of coffee. That particular experience resulted in several explosions and much lost money. As a result, we hide it in child-proof cupboards."

Sakura had to restrain herself from giggling the entire story, but the last sentence made her laugh out loud. "So wait, a member of an elite criminal organization can be kept out by _child-safety locks?_" Itachi nodded, and that was all it took for Sakura to fall over laughing. Itachi blinked. "I-I'm sorry," she managed to choke out between giggles, "but that's just too funny…!" She looked up at Itachi, and smiled. It was an honesty, open expression of happiness.

Itachi promptly left the room, with no explanation or excuse, just the soft click of the door.

Instantly, the laughter drained out of Sakura. She frowned, wondering exactly what that was. Was it because she had been laughing…?

**xXxXx Elsewhere xXxXx**

"Ah, Itachi," the leader said. "What brings you here?"

"I do not know if I am able to continue this mission," answered Itachi stiffly.

"And why," the leader answered softly, slowly, "is that, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi paused one moment before answering, "It does not sit well with my pride as an Uchiha."

The leader smiled, though Itachi could not see it. "Oh, Itachi, when has something silly as clan honor ever stopped you from a mission?" Itachi stiffened, and said nothing. With that simple line, the leader knew he had won. "Be a good boy and go continue on, okay?" He shoved Itachi out the door.

Once the younger male was out of the room, the leader frowned. He knew that this could cause him trouble….


End file.
